‘It’s unbelievable:’ Airport authority CEO reacts to change in COVID travel rules

Canada is changing its COVID-19 travel rules — and James Bogusz couldn’t be happier.

“It’s unbelievable,” the CEO of the Regina Airport Authority said during Thursday’s Greg Morgan Morning Show. “We expect this is going to be a huge boon for any traveller at any airport to save money and to certainly improve people wanting to travel.”

On Thursday, federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced vaccinated travellers entering Canada won’t have to show a negative COVID test starting April 1.

Tourists coming to the country will still need to be vaccinated and also could still be subject to random molecular tests when they arrive at Canadian airports.

Unvaccinated Canadians returning to the country will still have to isolate and be tested on arrival, and again eight days later.

Bogusz said the testing requirements that were in place could be costly, with private PCR tests costing hundreds of dollars each. He noted that could be problematic for a family of four.

“It’s unbelievable. It really is a big deterrent for a lot of people,” he said.

YQR on the rebound

It has been a tough couple of years for the Regina airport and the travel industry in general, but Bogusz sees the rule change as a positive step. In fact, he said things have already been moving in the right direction.

“It has been a challenge, but we’ve seen a resurgence in airline capacity … A lot more flights are being offered for sale,” he said.

“They’re ramping back up. (We’re) not quite back to pre-pandemic levels, but we’re getting much, much closer this summer. So we’re expecting a lot of customers.”

He predicts that this summer, the airport will see about 65 to 70 per cent of the traffic it did before COVID hit.

“That would be great for us — not just for us and for our bottom line, but also the whole economy here. We’re a big driver for the Saskatchewan economy,” Bogusz said.

He noted that direct flights to Montreal are starting up May 1, while budget airlines Swoop and Flair will be operating this summer.

“Things are really looking up for YQR,” he finished.

— With files from The Canadian Press